What current ebike can be had with some of the key components this bike has or better at this price point or cheaper?
Class 3
CVT
Mid Drive Brose engine
Belt Drive
Hidden Cables (cleanest Ebike on the market)
Integrated Break lights
And a key item - service footprint (all HD dealerships)
Fine by me if you don't like it for your own personal reasons, putting prejudices to the side, this bike compares to the cream of the crop (in my opinion). I'm not seeing many bikes if any on the market at this price point with these features. Looking into who designed the bikes, they come from a bicycle background. I think people shouldn't sleep on Serial 1. If they take lessons learned, share knowledge with their livewire motorcycle (battery tech/etc) and build them into road and MTN bikes, they will be very competitive with the Giants, Specialized and Treks of the world.
In a new world where ebikes look to be a big part of mobility, HD/Serial 1/Live Wire would be foolish not to try and capture their piece of a growing market. If they think about it, its really being able to attract new customers, grow their current customer base by offering more solutions to those customers. Maybe they don't see it that way and fade into irrelevance. I think a perfect comparison is the auto industry. Look at Ford, GM, VW - they are all leaning into electric vehicles and look at some of the innovations coming out pushing the space. Example the F-150 Lighting, Ford Mustang EV, Porsche Taycan, VW's electric line plus GM brining their battery tech.